Paul Domowitch

STAFF WRITER

Paul Domowitch is a pro football writer for the Inquirer and Daily News, where he has worked since 1982. He has covered nearly 30 Super Bowls and has been a selector for the Pro Football Hall of Fame for the last 15 years.

Jerome Harrison thought he had a bright future in Cleveland after rushing for 561 yards in the Browns’ final 3 games last season.

He thought wrong.

The Browns were so impressed by Harrison’s prolific late-season production that they went out and traded for one running back – Peyton Hillis – and drafted another – Montario Hardesty.

They were so impressed that, on Wednesday, they traded the 5-9, 205-pound running back to the Eagles for Mike Bell.

``I’m happy to be here,’’ said Harrison just before going out for his first practice with his new team. ``Fresh start, man. Sometimes that’s good. I wasn’t playing that much in Cleveland, so I’m going to work hard.’’

Harrison was splitting time with Hillis when the season opened. Rushed for 52 yards on 9 carries in a Week 1 loss to Tama Bay, then had just 33 yards on 16 carries in a Week 2 loss to the Chiefs. Missed the next 2 games with a thigh injury, then had just 6 yards on 6 carries in last week’s loss to the Falcons.

Says he doesn’t really know why he fell out of favor with the organization.

``I still don’t know the answer to that,’’ he said. ``I’m not too much worried about it. I’m here now and happy to be here.’’

It remains to be seen how quickly he’ll be able to help the Eagles. Their offense is nothing like the one the Browns run, which means Harrison is going to have to burn the midnight oil.

``We’ll see, we’ll see,’’ offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said when asked how quickly Harrison will be able to contribute. ``I haven’t even met him. So we’ll see. We’ll have to see how quickly he picks everything up. How much experience he’s had in (the West Coast offense) The terminology, those types of things."